Announcer accused of online harassment

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News :
September 2, 2010

In a case that could lead to the first local prosecution under a year-old law against online harassment, a San Antonio sports promoter is accused of using a fake Twitter account to badger a television reporter.

Mike Lavender, 36, has been charged with one count of online harassment-spoofing, an addition to the state's penal code that one legislator said is intended to protect people against anonymous online attackers.

Lavender has also worked as an announcer at Spurs, Rampage and Missions games. He was charged Friday and was released Saturday from Bexar County Jail after posting $3,500 bail.

Police said Lavender used a Twitter account, “@SkanksInSA411,” in June to harass the 33-year-old reporter, claiming she was in a relationship with a married man.

Because of the sensitivity of the allegations, the San Antonio Express-News is not identifying the reporter.

An arrest warrant affidavit states that an SAPD detective secured a grand jury subpoena and a court order to obtain the Twitter user's IP address, which connected the account to Lavender's home computer.

Police said Lavender admitted sending the messages from the social networking site.

Leo Gomez, vice president of public affairs for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, declined to comment on the criminal charge or Lavender's arrest.

When asked if he or others at the company were aware of the online comments, he chuckled, paused, and then said: “I'm not going to address that.”

Adriana Biggs, chief of the district attorney's white-collar-crimes division, said her office is investigating the case to determine whether it fits the criteria for House Bill 2003, which took effect last September and addresses online harassment.

If it does, Biggs said a grand jury will be asked to indict Lavender on the misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $4,000 and no more than one year in jail.

“We have not charged anybody under this statute since the law changed,” she said. “When I file the legal document (seeking an indictment), that will be the first.”

The new law makes it illegal to send e-mails, texts or instant messages or communicate through social networking sites if the intent is to harm, defraud or intimidate another person.

State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who co-authored the bill, said that while he wasn't aware of Lavender's arrest, it appears the allegation fits the intent of the law.

“That kind of harassment can cause a lot of damage to someone's reputation, to their livelihood and their well-being,” he said. “People are much less likely to harass folks if they have to use their own name.”

While relatively untested, authorities have tried using the law in a couple of Texas cases.

Last October, an online harassment charge against a 16-year-old Somerset girl was dismissed when the case didn't meet certain elements of the statute.

In January, a man south of Houston was arrested after a fraudulent dating site account was set up for a woman. The next month, a Houston woman was charged with online harassment after a job posting was created on craigslist.com under the guise of her former employer.

Other states also are grappling with the issue. The California Legislature passed a bill last month that would make it a misdemeanor to impersonate another person with criminal intent. The online impersonation must be of an actual person and both credible and without the other person's consent. It awaits the governor's signature.

Stanford Law School Professor Mark Lemley, who teaches Internet law, said he expects more states to follow Texas' lead and pass laws to regulate online harassment as people continue to join online social networks en masse.

“Facebook now has 500 million users,” he said. “It started out as a teenage phenomenon, but the fastest-growing segment on Facebook is people over 60. It's a huge part of life for a majority of the country.”

Locally, Biggs said that in the Lavender case, some form of online harassment was committed, but she wanted to gather more information before deciding whether it falls within the scope of the new law.

Andrea Tidwell Bowen, the reporter's attorney, said in a written statement that she and her client were willing to work with Lavender's attorney, Leo Solis, to solve the issue out of court.

The reporter wants a public apology, according to the statement, and in return will ask Biggs' office to drop the case.

Although she'll consider the reporter's request, Biggs said a case could go forward despite her wishes.

“We'll take into consideration the complainant's wishes, but ultimately, our job is to protect the community,” she said. “We're not going to treat it as a test case, but we may continue to pursue the case.”

“Oh (reporter), this isn't harassment, it's fate coming to get you. We all can see the (sic) pics on your FaceBook, and his FaceBook,” reads one tweet, or message sent publicly through Twitter and limited to 140 characters.

In other posts, he compared her to Nicole Kidman's character in the movie “To Die For,” called her a “homewrecker” and told his followers to boycott the station where she works.